Whew. Lot's to wade through here but the idea of these shows as more of a museum piece is dead on correct. Seeing last night's show 8 can attest to it. It's the whole package, the setting, the presentation, the concept. Unless you were there it's pretty tough to get the entire feeling of the proceedings. And as much as I would have loved seeing them jamming "Ruckzuck" in 1971, the Radio-Activity show was special in it's own way. Just wish it had been a tad bit louder.

Yeah those wonderful Tokyo recordings really show how different they sound nowadays, if you listen back to back with say, the "minimum-maximum" versions.

Re. bootlegs, one show I was at was the Glasgow show in Nov 1991 and there is an audio boot of it out there. However, there was a big deal at the time of how the show was being transmitted via the internet to, IIRC, two or three European cities - maybe Paris and somewhere in Germany. This was pretty groundbreaking at the time. I can't really remember the details very clearly though. There were crowds at these cities who had paid to watch the show in real time and I think we were shown live pictures of the other audiences during the show (I might be imagining that). Anyway, this makes me think that there must be video of that show somewhere. Anyone know anything about that?

yes, that would have been an interesting piece to update. maybe ralf wasn't feeling up to taking that long of a keyboard solo. they also left out the 'Metal On Metal' breakdown in TEE, though they played it the previous night.

'Hall of Mirrors' leads with samples from the studio version. 'Showroom Dummies', also largely cloned. except they end it with a bit of the riff from 'Mitternacht', which is fun as live versions of 'Mitternacht' from 74 & 75 would usually start out with a jam using the riff that turned into 'Showroom Dummies'.

hope someone managed to capture all the other tracks from 'Radioactivity', that was the night with the most songs they've never played live before.

>Their records, and their records alone, is why they are all-time in the first place, that is obvious, surely?

No, I think there's a real argument to be made for the fact that they toured these albums as a very live band. I think people who came to those shows with any pre-conceptions of electronic music being a studio-only thing had those pre-conceptions erased.

Fair enough, I guess? Our disagreement here may have to do mostly with location -- Oslo/Norway is an obvious stop for bands of a certain size (and a couple of sizes below) these days with the festivals and all, but even in my living memory it wasn't like that. I've heard legends the Sex Pistols actually played here once in a small room. People are still talking about when Miles Davis played at Sardine's in 1985 or something. The same year, the Waterboys' gig was a highpoint for rock ppl in this country. The Rolling Stones FAMOUSLY played here -- once! -- in 1965, and I'm not sure they ever came back until 1989. The Beatles never played here, certainly not after the Stones did. (OK lame joke.)

And most of the world is backwaters like that, I'd think. Maybe I'll have a look for kw tour schedules of the 70s, but gut feeling is that classic records become classic records because the records are classic, nothing more.

they weren't the only touring electronic band, but unlike Tangerine Dream & Klaus Schulze hunched down behind consoles & barely visible behind fog-machines, my friends who saw them in 75 & 81 both mentioned that with Kraftwerk, every sound you heard had a gesture attached to it; you could see what they were playing. in the 70's, even the people who knew what electronic music was thought of it as inherently studio-only; they expected those concerts to be tape playback. But no; two percussionists driving everything, so you can't underestimate the influence of those concerts.

the show still has aspects of live performance, but it's like the difference between a cyclist and a jet pilot

Aye mp; I'm not saying your take is wrong, just... alien to me somehow. Invoking the live shows of Tangerine Dream and/or K Schulze... maybe *they* played Oslo some time back in the 70s, but I wouldn't bank on it. (I would of course be srsly underage at that time anyway, so ah I dunno...)

(liking that last video obv though -- cgi of vw beetle fahrend along like whoosh hurrah! :-D My grandmother finally got a driver's licence at about the age of 60; bought a bright orange beetle. I can still remember the registration number, and the plastic hole pattern in the ceiling inside made me see 3d; the grandmother mentioned rounded 96 just now btw. OK, *now* I'm babbling.)

CONGRATULATIONS! Your entry in the VW / Kraftwerk Sweepstakes has been selected as a winner of two (2) tickets to the MoMA Kraftwerk Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Exhibit at MoMA PS1 located in Long Island City, NY. Approximate Retail Value is up to $30 for two (2) tickets based on exhibition date you attend.

There are no physical tickets for this exhibit and your name will be held at the MoMA PS1 kiosk in the lobby for entry.

The Exhibit tickets are non-transferable and admission will be granted to the winner and one guest only. A valid picture ID matching your name and a print-out of this confirmation e-mail is required for admittance. If you are arriving with a guest, they must be present at time of check-in. This policy will be strictly enforced.

This ticket is only good for one (1) visit to the Kraftwerk Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 exhibit during the exhibit dates of April 18, 2012 through May 14, 2012. Prize will expire after the last date of the exhibit on May 14, 2012. This is for the MoMA PS1 exhibit only and NOT for a Kraftwerk concert.

German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk play eight live performances in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in their first London dates since 2004.

KRAFTWERK - THE CATALOGUE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 is a chronological exploration of the group’s sonic and visual experiments and presents eight classic master works from across their celebrated repertoire with spectacular 3D visualisations and effects.

Combining sound and images, the performances showcase nearly 40 years of musical and technical innovation, including new improvisations, 3D projections and animation. Commencing with Autobahn, each night covers one of Kraftwerk’s groundbreaking studio albums in full and appear in order of their release — Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop (1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour de France (2003) — alongside additional compositions from their back-catalogue.